The Game of Slavery
by HeartElyse
Summary: After a ruse turns horribly wrong, Anakin finds himself in the clutches of Dooku, yet he has no idea that worse clutches existed...until he found himself trapped in a game...a game of slavery... Inspired by the Slaves of the Republic Arc, yet not tied with it. Three-shot.
1. Part 1

**PART 1**

OBI-WAN'S POV

It had been one wrong move, one faulted tread of booted feet and like all puzzles doomed to fail with the pieces lost to oblivion, the mission had fallen apart. It had only been a ruse, a risk-ridden yet tactful endeavour to divert attention from the charing teal sphere of Christophsis in hopes of veering the battle to a higher, almost unreachable ground. Yet they had undermined their enemy's perception and underestimated their awareness.

That was the reason Obi-wan stood stoically within the control centre of the _Resolute_ , peering through the vortex of obsidian nothingness, a trail of lapis lazuli stardust the remnants of Grievous's Star Destroyer, the Recusant. He felt devoid of all physical feeling, numb, clutching at the scruff of Ahsoka's shirt to prevent the distraught youth from leaping into her Star-Fighter to begin a fruitless chase after her Master that not even an experienced Space Navigator could possibly decipher.

He too longed to madly search for his dear friend, yet instead he inhaled a quavering breath, purging himself of the chill riddling his soul with the assistance of the Force. He would rescue Anakin; that was a promise he dared not break. Yet where Anakin might be within this very heartbeat was something that no one knew; and the thought concerned Obi-wan more than he wished to admit.

 _Just hold on, Anakin... Just hold on..._

XXX

 **A Month Passes**

ANAKIN'S POV

The Lightsabre traced down Anakin's side, it's sweltering scarlet trail a blurred flame within his profusely watering sight, its heat seething over the brutally cleaved flesh with the intensity of a moiling, bubbling pool of lava, so precarious and slow that it was pure agony to endure. Even with his eyes squeezed shut against the vial sensation, he could not block out the visions, the memories, the feelings that had been plastered to the skin behind his eyelids, tormenting him with each second he dared to blink. He was immobilised by the energy-fields fastened around his wrists and ankles, suspending his frail being in the centre of the shadowy cell, unable to hide from the mechanical monsters and soulless demons that seemed to resound to no end in this room, ravishing his body in hopes he would divulge information.

Information he could no longer recall...because of the drug...

The drug that was injected senselessly into his bloodstream, any moment when unconsciousness threatened to overwhelm him, when exhaustion became too enticing to ignore. An infestation of thousands of coiling serpents released into his veins, travelling through his arteries until they reach his heart, brain, stomach and lungs. His body would convulse incoherently against his restraints, his sanity evading him, his heart pulsating so frantically that he was certain that he would die from the assault that struck ceaselessly from within. All hopes of sleep were stolen, his reality morphing into a delirious mania of waking nightmares, toying him with psychotic afflictions that he couldn't control.

Anakin was gnawing on his tongue to prevent the shrieks from spilling over his lips, acidic blood and strangled sobs lodged within his throat, suffocating him from within. No thoughts penetrated through the acrid blanket of pain-ridden fog that hammered against his brain, the fringe of his perception shrinking with the darkness rapidly honing in. A constant, ticking throb overtook every cell within his body, resonating from his head, chest, stomach, even to the very tip of his toes.

The Force had been shredded from his grasp, as was his senses, as was his freedom to his own body. He'd been abandoned to the dark...

"Tell me the bases of the Republic supply lines," hissed a voice that caused a shiver of dread to slither down his spin. _Dooku_. "And I promise to deliver a painless end to your suffering..."

Anakin longed to release the tears bubbling just beneath his eyelids, with his mind a fractured, infected refuge where fog and darkness only resides, he had no idea how to reply to the question, even if he'd wanted to.

Squinting against the anguish that tore at every nerve-ending within his person, he gasped a haggard reply. "I...can't!"

Anakin anticipated the infuriated slash and barely swallowed his scream as the red blaze swiped jarringly along his abdomen, the tip melting the flesh beneath its merciless claw, adding to the countless slashes that coated his slender stomach and ribcage. Through his own hammering blood, he heard Dooku's nauseating voice echo commandingly, his words filtering through the tumult of his brain.

"If you do not answer soon, Skywalker, than I will have to find a much crueler fate for your demise. It's becoming clear that you may not actually know the truth. Unfortunate, really, because once I'm done with you, you'll wish you had of known."

All the blood remaining in his withering form seemed to trickle away through the bottom of his heels. The words reverberated over and over within his battered skull, chilling his insides with horror. Before he could ponder them however, his icy fear was replaced with a maelstrom of terror as a sharp, pointed, steely implement held by a separatist surgeon droid sidled cautiously into his faltering level of vision.

A whimper broke from his mouth. _Not again_ , he moaned inwardly. _Please, no..._

Anakin's correlating orbs expanded to the size of saucers as panic gushed into his being, his limbs trembling vigorously as he pitifully yanked at his bindings, aware gut-wrenchingly that his futile attempts were pointless. With his chance to escape thwarted by his immobility, the droid placed the tip of the hypo to his throat and pressed the plunger. The moment the foul liquid sizzled into his veins, it was like he'd been injected with an overdose of caffeine and adrenaline, a gurgling toxic tar that simmered just beneath the barricades of his skin, causing his vision to warp and billow as though the very fabric of the room had become an illusion. His heart began to pummel so violently against his ribcage that agony overwhelmed almost every fibre of his body, his strangulated sobs finally tumbling from his lips as uncontrollable tears streamed from his eyes.

He was done with this agony. He was done with this sleeplessness. He just wanted the end.

 _When would he be over? When would this end?..._

XXX

 _His sight was clouded with scarlet...darkness...black..._

 _Eyes...multiple pairs..._

 _Figures...nameless...circling him...observing him like ravenous vultures..._

 _The ground was lurching...teetering hazardously where he was lying...the sickness overtaking every cell...draining him of all life..._

 _Iron shackles slice at his wrists and ankles...containing him in motionlessness..._

 _Is this real? Or is this the drug? The dense poison still churning inside him...reeking havoc within..._

 _Voices spoke...deadened and almost silenced within his destructive illness...the words almost fathomless..._

"...gift to you...Jedi...if...join...Separatist Alliance..."

"...such fine-stock...fair price..."

"...he...serve..."

"...a perfect...slave...needs...processing..."

"...in your hands..."

 _The voices ceased to exist as did all sound...a ringing...buzzing hum...piercing his brain..._

 _A figure stepped out from the crimson haze...disappearing from sight forever...only to be replaced by several more...towering...threatening..._

 _This can't be real...this can't be..._

 _Hands tore at him harshly...yanking his almost unyielding form across rough earth...a rag doll...unable to retaliate..._

 _A black room..._

 _A prick jabbing into the pulse of his neck...numbing him completely..._

 _Was he going crazy?... Had he lost his sanity?..._

 _No answer came...only sweet unconsciousness..._

XXX

 **Hey guys!**

 **So finally, here is my next story! I decided to split the story into three parts, just because the story is quite long. Anakin's capture wasn't meant to be as long or as interesting as this, but I got this really good idea to add the drug into the mix.**

 **Thank you guys for reading!**

 **Heartelyse**


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

OBI-WAN'S POV

 _A scarlet fog oozed across the darkness like dense blossoms of blood, manipulated by the darkside, sending a shudder tumbling down Obi-wan's spine. He felt the frigidness of the air with each breath that slithered into his lungs, seizing his body with shivers. Yet it was what he could see through the haze that truly made the blood within his veins turn to ice_.

 _A withering figure lay behind the impenetrable screen of red, curled as though it was trying to force itself inside out, a dark presence encasing it like a strangling blanket that snuffed out the very essence of light. Agony emitted from it in torrents, a maelstrom so powerful within the Force that it hovered over Obi-wan like a shadow. And as it opened it's eyes, with glowing aqua rims skirting large obsidian pupils, Obi-wan was stunned by revelation_. Anakin...

 _"Anakin," he murmured aloud, raising his hand feebly as if hoping to touch him with fingers that trembled, or at least hear him through the unpiercable wall that kept them separated._

 _Yet Anakin didn't even react, his dilated irises purely focused on somethings only he could see, watching its every movement with a gaze ladened with disorientation and apprehension._

 _"Anakin!" Obi-wan cried a little louder, fearful his former Padawan might become obscured by the darkness completely. He stepped forward, yearning to penetrate the scarlet fog and free his dear friend. Yet the more he closed in on the haze, the more the scene seemed to recoil away from him, becoming faded with Anakin being swept away with it..._

 _Until all that was left was black..._

XXX

"Are you certain he's being drugged?"

"Yes, I could tell by his eyes; the pupils were too diluted to be sane."

Obi-wan had presented the details of his vision to the Council as soon as the sun had brushed the surface of the horizon, shrouding the streets of Coruscant in dull flaxen. Concern was so heavy within the air that it could be tasted with a single breath. This had been the first news of Anakin since his abduction a month ago, yet the Jedi had not been expecting such a grim occurrence to answer their pleas for information.

"Know where he might be, do you?" Yoda inquired, leaning forward in his seat, gimer stick in hand.

Obi-wan, feeling rather shaken and defeated, shook his head with his sorrowful grey eyes lowered to the marble floor, sighing, "Anakin felt as though he was somewhere deep within the Galaxy, yet as for where, I don't know."

He swivelled around to gaze over at Ahsoka residing against the far wall, almost out of sight and flinched as her tear-filled eyes caught on his own.

"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka..."

XXX

ANAKIN'S POV

Anakin stirred to the sound of feminine laughter, a purring cackle that screeched within his skull, hammering relentlessly against his brain. Instinctively, he tried to reach up to his ears to block the grating octave, yet instantly found his hands arrested by dense bindings wound so constrictingly around his wrists that they gorged deep into his flesh. At first he was disorientated, recognising the sensation of lying on hot pavement and the feeling of seething sunlight shrouding his frame. He flickered open his eyelids, feeling swollen with wooziness and flinched as golden brightness sweltered into his irises, yanking at his restraints again in a futile attempt to shield his eyes. He attempted to raise his head to observe the entire situation he'd seemingly fallen into, yet the exertion caused a blinding agony to hack against his skull as though a dagger had sliced right through the centre and he lowered it back down, a muffled cry tumbling from his lips.

The last thing he could clearly reminisce was the needle plunging into his throat as he hung suspended in Dooku's _shadowy_ cruiser. This was a drastic change from the gaunt darkness to the smouldering light.

Anakin wriggled on the ground, trying to alleviate the aches that assaulted his form, yet felt a trill of panic spark within his stomach as shackles tugged at his ankles and throat, the clanking of iron chains reverberating through the din. His heart began to flutter frantically, shrinking against his fractured ribcage, pulsating rapidly yet hardly making his blood move at all. The feminine laughter erupted again, this time behind him and resounding too close to be considered comfortable. Anakin's body bypassed his thin layer of control that had been jarred countless times since his capture as he squirmed against the stone, attempting to twist himself over to see the host of the audible amusement, yet found each desperate strain for movement thwarted by the bindings that kept him rooted in place, his skin slicked in perspiration with his tongue and throat parched by thirst.

A startled, unbidden yowl wrenched from his throat - muffled by a muzzle that was fastened over his jaw - as clawed, spindling fingers scrapped down his cheek, scrabbling across his skin like the legs of a large spider. He struggled feebly to recoil from the foreign touch, yet was unsuccessful as the chilling palm brushed ruthlessly along the shaft of his throat, slithering over his shoulder and across his frail form, pressing harshly against the shattered bone just hidden behind the flesh of his side until the hand grappled lustily over his hip, where the hem of his trousers resided. He shuddered unrelentingly beneath the caress. He knew his captor was female; her seductive, sleazy implications established that. Yet even in those yearning heartbeats when Padme handled him in this way, he never felt his stomach clench so violently with icy sludge as he did in that very moment.

The repulsively sweet sylvan scent of her perfume that loomed over his nostrils was like a choking, intoxicating fume that caused him to fight his natural instinct to hurl. He frantically yelped a silently plea to the Force, yet felt his heart wither in panic at the realisation that the galaxy's essence had been wrenched mercilessly from his grasp. His eyes began to simmer involuntarily with unshed tears at the maelstrom of guilt and despair that struck him like a torrent at the thought of Padme, with him constrained to a durasteel pole in the centre of an arena, open to the broiling dust-hued sky, with a woman concealed by his low level of perception, seemingly ready to ravish him at any second. He desperately hoped his beloved was forgiving, and even better, would never find out.

The female's lascivious tone began to utter in his ears, her breath causing the hairs on his neck to stand on end. "Oh, is my Jedi afraid of a little feminine desire? From the _Hero with no Fear_ , I am quite astounded..."

Anakin spluttered, the acidic bile threatening to purge from him as he coughed, his thin body wracking and convulsing with the effort to suppress how shaken to the core he was by the woman's bold, filthy touches. He forced himself to swallow the ill substance that had risen at the very idea of the woman's existence, a hoarse incoherent muffling escaping from him instead as he attempted fruitlessly to speak through the muzzle devouring his every word into fathomless sound. He ached to put a face to this phantom that remained nameless and hid mercilessly behind him.

Anakin unleashed a yelp as abruptly the hand was removed from his side and instead flashed across his face, the talon-like nails carving jagged, bloody lines over his nose and cheekbones. He was stunned by her sudden alter in attitude towards him, switching from seductive to aggravated in seemingly a batter of an eyelid. A high-pitched snarl followed, hissed within his ears with disgust and venom.

"You do not dare speak without permission! Do you understand me, _slave_?"

Anakin winced as the word rippled maliciously through the din, however when he didn't react further, the woman growled a savage purr before grasping his chin crudely and jerked his head backwards, twisting his neck so violently that a horrible crunch pulsed through his skull, causing scathing pain to sizzle down his spine. He whimpered, white dots obscuring his visions for several heartbeats until the pain began to subside and the features of his elusive captor finally came into view. If his stomach had the ability to simply seep through his skin, it would have completely abandoned his body.

Queen Miraj Scintel of Zygerria hovered over him, her fox-like details vivid and overflowing with her power and her constant yearning for more. She would have been considered beautiful if her beauty wasn't so cold and menacing, tainted with her cruel, bloodstained hands which she so graciously concealed. Anakin was suddenly very aware of how dire his situation had become as his confusion began to unravel into chilling dread.

Her golden eyes scathed ravenously over his frame, delving into his very soul, as though he was her property, and every piece of him, broken or intact was hers to maim or seek pleasure from. It was a claustrophobic sensation the seemed all too familiar, one he had been certain he'd rid himself of many years ago, yet had lunged out at him through the darkness when he'd least expected it, leaving him blind and terrified.

She smirked with cruel mirth, very aware of how she had him twirled around her fingers. "If Dooku couldn't break you...then I certainly will..." She cackled for a moment, the sound trembling through Anakin's every fibre like nails grating along a chalkboard. "Let see how long you can last in this heat without water...see how quickly you will oblige to your new title... _Slave_..."

Her hand snaked down his spine, leaving a vial trail of feeling that caused tremors to quake his form. After a moment, she rose and slid out of his sight, her pattering footsteps sounding until they'd completely faded away. Anakin could hear other footsteps behind him and knew he was being guarded.

Anakin allowed his head to flop back down into a more comfortable position, squeezing his eyelids shut against the blistering sun, feeling the tears leak out, puddling over the rust-coloured dirt. He couldn't brush them away. He couldn't do anything at all...

XXX

 **Hey guys!**

 **Thank you so much for reading the next part of the story! Believe me, I had no idea that this story would take such a dark turn. Just letting you know, what was written in this part was as far as the 'sleaziness' was going to go and I didn't intend to offend anyone. I understand the seriousness that a topic such as this can turn into.**

 **So, just an individual reply for all those who have reviewed so far:**

 **McAwesome - Thank you so much for commenting; I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

 **Overlorddevil - Thanks for the heads up; I've been spelling that word wrong for a while! I'm happy you are liking it so far and hope you keep liking it!**

 **Queen Callisto - You are welcome and thank you so much for reading! Me too, although I think you can tell. Thank you so much; that really means a lot to me. I hope you keep enjoying the story!**

 **Of course, I seriously thank everyone who also favourited and followed.**

 **Until next time!**

 **HeartElyse**


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

ANAKIN'S POV

Scathing agony sizzled down Anakin's spine seemingly for the umpteenth time as the serpentine whip furled into the flesh of his back, it's electrical strand like scourging claws lashing muscle into ribbons of blood. A moan squeezed through his gritted teeth, too drained to even cry out, his voice muffled by a muzzle anyways. He vaguely felt the fox-like eyes of the Zygerrian Queen, Miraj Scintel, roaming over his frail form as he kneeled submissively before her, a once undomesticated captive now a slave too weakened to fight back. He knew she relished in his agony, was drunk on his pain, her ravenous urge for domination devouring every last piece of himself just like the barren dunes of Tatooine had all those years ago.

He felt delirious within his shackles, his connection to the Force dwindling so nonexistently that it was dizzying. The cuffs locked gratingly around his wrists reverberated almost all presences of the Force, as did the shock collar that was twisted with stabbing pressure around his throat. It was a feeling of misery that he found difficult to put into words; a hollowness, a helplessness, an emptiness that could only be rivalled with the nauseating sensations of hunger that wracked at the very lining of his stomach, almost as agonising as the lash of thorns that stroked malevolently over his shoulders.

Anakin had forgotten how many days he'd watched pass torturously by, every second, minute, and hour a tormented struggle for survival. It was part of his 'conditioning'; to break the hard shell and salvage all that was within until only an obedient carcass remained. He wasn't certain anymore if his willpower had fractured or not, yet physically, he was shattered...at least almost... He felt as though he was that same small child that had been forced to kneel before his Masters, always attempting to separate himself from the bonds of slavery, yet never succeeding. But at least he hadn't been alone; his mother had always been by his side...

Anakin's mind was a blur of incoherent thoughts and pain splurging together to create a maelstrom of meaninglessness. He hardly noticed that the whip had stopped cracking, the shrieking sound still ringing within his ears until a soft, yet savagely clawed hand gripped his chin and aggressively raised his splitting head without consent, his eyes gazing into shards of black ice. Anakin felt smouldering fury manifest within the very fabric of his soul at the sight of the Queens mocking smirk and it must have reflected itself through his ghastly features for she released a purr of amusement.

"After so long, you still remain so head-strong," she cackled playfully as though he was nothing more than an extravagant pet that existed merely for her pleasure. The raw, bloody skin running along his spine crawled as she ran her palm carelessly down his neck which had suffered much whiplash from the aggressive jerking he'd endured from the chains attached to his collar and muzzle. "You wouldn't have to go through so much suffering if you just complied to conditioning."

Anakin tried to hiss a menacing retort, yet was frustrated when all the muzzle permitted were meaningless, muffled cries. They had refused him the right to move to his own whim, the right to control his own body and the right to his own voice. It only added to the hopelessness the gnawed achingly within; they had degraded him to the point that he was surprised that he still had the right to see.

The Queen chortled, removing her hand from his throat to suddenly strike the ruined flesh of his back mercilessly, causing him to release a hoarse cry of shock and jarring agony. "Perhaps you are too much trouble...despite costing nothing at all..."

Anakin lowered his assaulted skull, wishing to coil himself into a tight ball and be left in peace to die on his own accord; yet his death was not his own, but the Queen's. If only he hadn't been dumped by Dooku on this dust ball, then none of this would have happened. He'd probably be resting with his wife, Padme securely in his arms...Padme...

"Perhaps selling you off for a high price to the Republic..."

The Queens voice reeled within his mind and Anakin snapped his head back up, ignoring the excruciating jolt that followed, glorious hope rising, like a glowing beacon dousing the darkness...

And yet he should have known better than to believe that Queen wasn't just tormenting him with her cruel emotional-toying.

"Or perhaps...the Slave Auction taking place at sunhigh tomorrow?"

Anakin felt his heart plummet from his throat to the very pit of his hollow stomach, feeling as though a sly viper had coiled itself around his trachea and was squeezing so suffocatingly that he could hardly breathe. The tiny spark of hope seemed to liquify and seemingly evaporate into the fathomless black of misery and if he was willing to admit, fear. He hated the sensation of it clawing at his nervous system, numbing his ability to think clearly, aggravating his gut that seemed ready to disintegrate with how shrivelled and agonising it had become. And yet this seemed all too familiar to the past, a life he'd thought he'd escaped from forever, a life that had never belonged to him until he had been freed, a life that had carved many scars across his soul that would never truly heal.

And yet here he was again...

Anakin felt the spindly fingers curl around his chin and grudging obeyed the silent command to raise his head, meeting the Queen's mercilessly yearning eyes once more as she chortled at his obvious disappointment, features gleaming cruelly at his expense.

"Yes!... You will be a prised possession, of the Zygerrian Queens handy-work...expensive...carved by the ways of pure slavery, for that is all you have ever been; a slave... It will be sad to see my servant be sold...yet you have served me well, and you may do better with another who can condition you...further..."

Her condemning words arrested him for a moment, his horror for the future that awaited him a swarming hornet of adrenaline that kept him paralysed, yet soon his fears seemed to expand into a boiling sensation of mindless rage as he ripped his chin from Miraj's chilling hand, despite the agony rippling ceaselessly through his skull and shakily rose to his feet, ignoring the swooning wooziness, the chains clawing at his raw wrists and throat, and the electrocuting bolts of agony shooting through his shattered ribcage. He blindly lunged forward, unthinking, trying with all his will to keep himself from loosing consciousness as he struggled to tear himself free of the shackles that prevented him from practically moving even a step forward, longing for lasers to spring from his eyes so he could kill the Queen where she stood.

A sudden spasm of blue tendrils erupted from the collar around his throat, snaking through his cells at an excruciating level. A shriek shredded his throat in half as the agony rendered him sightless, hazing his brain with sizzling pain as his body seemed to collapse beneath him and fall harshly to the ground once more. He teetered on the edge of consciousness and unconsciousness as his frail person had been driven way passed its exertion and was pleading to be left alone.

The onslaught soon ended and Anakin found himself too hysterical to decipher the difference between what was reality and what was insanity. His depleted frame jerked and quaked as the electricity continued to vibrate through his body, too weakened to even move as he lay motionless on the thrown room floor, taking in hagged, tortured breaths. He peeked his eyes open for a moment to see the livid face of the Queen glaring down upon him, hissing furiously to his guards, yet his ears were ringing too much to hear what they were saying.

Anakin recoiled as best he could when he noticed the guards raising their lashes, wincing his only shield against the assault as the lash bared down upon him, yet with the first strike, the agony sent him hurling into a blissful unconsciousness...finally...

XXX

Anakin winced as the groan of the stone grate opening rang like a blast through his battered skull, narrowing his eyes to the broiling glow of the Zygerrian sun flaring aggressively against his sight. He released a sharp, pain-dense hiss as the reins attached his muzzle and collar yanked harshly at his bruised jaw and strained throat, forcing him to stagger forward on quaking legs into the view of many ravenous eyes. He felt the agony sizzling from his shattered ribs jab savagely into his lungs, causing him to almost double over, choking on his own feeble attempts to breathe. His barren stomach only served to add to his immense suffering, spiralling into terse knots that caused him to gag dryly from the anguish of it.

Anakin bowed his head as he was continually yanked forward, finding himself refusing to scream from the excruciating pain that lit his body ablaze, a body he wished he could escape from, that he longed to not be his own. He couldn't bear the thought of gazing up to see the slavers jeering at him, tormenting him for his weakness, for he was beaten, merely a servant boy once again that had become too small for his own body.

And they were the _reason_...

It sparked a fury inside him that felt like molten clotting his veins, causing him to ache further, to make him wish that the end was near...

The Queens voice slithered meaninglessly throughout the sandstone arena, yet Anakin felt a gargling snarl rise at the back of his throat. _She was the reason for all of this. Every last piece of himself now belonged to her, no matter what slaver claimed him today. She'd always be watching, observing his progress, waiting for him to break fully, or at least die beneath her swift hands._

In that very heartbeat, something within Anakin's self-control...shattered... _Well, not anymore..._

He released a shriek that had been desperate to explode from him for seemingly eternity, ringing forth through the muzzle in a roar of sound, his agony, fear and anger pouring out for all to hear. His immense pain was his motivation as it seemed to tear the very fabric of his being apart as he pulled back against the chains dragging him forward. It jarred his jaw and throat, yet he ignored it, ripping at his constraints frantically, trying to free himself from the guards that were being jerked around by his waning strength.

Anakin's own blood was pulsating so profusely through his ears that he didn't even recognise the screams of blaster-fire filtering from somewhere high above. He continued to yank himself backwards blindly, his sight hazed with dizziness and red. Only one conscious thought seemed to reach him through his hysteria, blunt and panicked, as though his own mind was suffocating; _I can't take this anymore!... I can't take this anymore!..._

With each violent pull, he was met with resistance, like being attached to a brick wall, unyielding and excruciating. Yet, with adrenaline momentarily numbing his pain, he threw himself away from what held him bound with all the might that he possessed in his frail being - and then the resistance broke, just a little, yet it gave him the split second he needed. He dug his heels deep into the solid rock beneath his feet, refusing to budge until finally, there was a release and he slid free from his captors, loosing his balance as he collided harshly with the ground below.

Anakin's head snapped backwards, a horrible crack slicing through the air as though something solid had shattered into smithereens. At first, Anakin was paralysed, his skull rippling with nauseating throbs. He was too dazed for a moment to recognise the situation unfolding around him, yet after several heartbeats screaming within his head, every ache, feeling and emotion seemed to revive within an agonising split second.

His sight furling like polluted water, Anakin forced himself to his unbalanced heels, the entire universe swirling violently as though he was trapped in an endlessly spinning hurricane. No sound existed. No air could possibly penetrate his lungs ever again. His stomach had caved in on itself and he heaved dryly, every motion jarring. His terror was rising to an overwhelming height. Without the force, it felt as though a dagger had severed his wings, damaged his sight and had rendered him useless. He was trapped in complete blindness...unable to see...unable to breathe...

His fears seemed to manifest as hands tugged at the muzzle covering his jaw, pulling at it aggressively. Anakin tried to back away from his attacker, yet his attempts were too feeble to even be recognised. His efforts were short lived as his knees seemed to vanish from beneath him and he thudded back to the ground. He struggled with all the remaining will within his convulsing body to stand, yet it was pointless. _He was done... He was done..._

Anakin faintly heard his name quivering in the air, yet his tongue was twisted in knots, unable to answer or call for help. He didn't even recognise when the muzzle was removed from his jaw, suddenly feeling chillingly cold, the numb, deadly kind of cold that seemed to clot his veins with ice. The darkness was spinning, correlating in a whirlwind of black and red as he tumbled down...down...down...

XXX

 _"... You will surrender yourself to me!..."_

 _The crackling tongue of the whip licking the blood along his spine, flames rendering flesh, sweltering agony, raw shrieks..._

Anakin shivered at the sensation of perspiration slithering down his healing shoulders, blinking away the waking nightmare that seemed destined to taunt him with his eyes wide open as well as closed. He could feel his heartbeat pulsing frantically to the very tips of his fingers, the blood hammering so loudly within his ears that Obi-wan's words were being lost in deafness. He felt an overwhelming pressure of guilt flood into his stomach, for this had been occurring too often over the past two weeks to count to nearly every person who struck a conversation with him.

A convulsive spasm suddenly tore through his frail form, the horror seeming to grip his lungs and throat in clawed hands just by thinking about all that had happened. He longed to be blank of all thoughts, to have his mind wiped clean, yet he knew that wasn't possible. He felt himself quake again, his stomach clenching violently. His gaze lowered to the shadowy floors of his living-quarters, noticing how his robes hung of his still incredibly boney body and grimaced, a sense of disgust intensifying inside him towards his own crippled appearance.

It was then he felt the stormy eyes upon him, roaming over him and Anakin stiffened, wearily raising his eyes slightly to see Obi-wan's features riddled with concern.

"Anakin," Obi-wan murmured and Anakin was glad his words had reached him. "Are you alright?"

Anakin struggled not to recoil away from the hand that was placed on his shoulder, consoling physical touch something he had difficulty trusting anymore. His former Master must have noticed the utter anxiety creeping onto his face for he retracted his hand, his frown deepening with worry.

Anakin felt as though his mouth was laced with cotton, fearful of admitting his weaknesses, weary that if he started speaking, he'd never be able to stop.

"No," Anakin finally gasped, his voice strangled as though his confession was pure agony. "I thought fooling everyone around me into believing it might help me believe it too, but I... _can't_ , Obi-wan... _I can't_..."

Anakin curled his arms protectively around his delicately thin middle, attempting desperately to stifle his violent trembling as he continued. "I'm not ok, Obi-wan. I can hardly sleep anymore and even in my waking moments I'm plagued by my nightmares. I think about everything that happened within those chains and it's like...I can't breathe. I can't focus. I can't think clearly. When I see shackles...even a pet in a collar I'm reminded of it and I can't... I can't..."

Anakin's voice trailed away in shallow gasps as his legs seemed to crumple beneath him and he slid to his hands and knees. He was vaguely aware in his suffocating state of Obi-wan kneeling down beside him and placing a soothing hand on his tender spine, causing every limb within his body to tense.

He heard Obi-wan sigh sorrowfully. "Anakin, no one expected you to be ok after what you went through. Stop trying to tear yourself away from your wounds and just give yourself time to heal fully. Just take your time and know you are completely safe here."

Anakin, felt Obi-wan's fingers grip his chin and force him to gaze directly into his former Master smoky eyes with words that truly broke through the shredded fabric of his soul.

"You are not a slave anymore, Anakin. You understand me? You are not a slave anymore..."

With eyes brimming with tears he refused to let shed, a quivering smile - the first smile since this all began - lightly graced his lips as he attempted to steady his erratic breathing. With the burden of his secret free, the weight on his entire body seemed to lift, the first glimmer of hope reaching him in this cage of ominous shadows.

"Thank you, Obi-wan. Thank you..."

 **THE END**

XXX

 **Hey guys!**

 **I'm sorry for the delay; life just got in the way :(**

 **However, I am finished! I'm so happy! And by the way, when I say 'finished', I also mean finished with The Game of Slavery trilogy. I've been working on this story idea for six months now, and none of it went as I originally planned!**

 **Thank you all so much for commenting, following and favouriting this story! I'm so glad so many people liked it :)**

 **HeartElyse**


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